He told Jonathan Ross: ‘The Bake Off won’t change in the sense that the format will stay exactly the same, the tent will stay the same, the challenges and really the bakers (will not change).

‘Ultimately, it comes down to when the bakers get in the tent next year, then it will be a special thing.

‘I’m really excited about it and I think it will do a great job, I’m going to make sure that we keep it the same.’

We’ve got your word, Hollywood. You better stick to it.

Everyone is very anxious about how The Great British Bake Off will work on Channel 4

That’s good news for those of us who have been jarred by the shock news of Love Productions selling the format to the BBC’s rival.

The master baker, 50, also lamented over his decision to stick with the show while Mary Berry, Mel and Sue jumped ship.

He said: ‘It was between the production company and the BBC and they then moved to Channel 4 and obviously it came down to … my job was still there and I didn’t want to lose my job. I love doing what I do.

Paul Hollywood says stop panicking (Picture: BBC)

‘We knew they were talking, there were negotiations going on. We had no idea that we were going to move until it actually happened.’

He admitted there had been ‘long talks’ between him and Channel 4 in helping him make his decision.